I'm looking for 'severely ethnic' mexican eatery recs

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Squidlo

In San Antonio's defense, the local flour tortillas are the best I have ever had. Do not settle for the crap (flour tortillas) you get on a supermarket shelf. Find a proper Panderia/Tortilleria. There is much better to be had. I learned oh so late in life... much to lament.

This is the reason we've been enjoying La Hacienda Real for the past couple of years. Hand made flour and corn tortillas. Their food seems somewhat Americanized but there are plenty of more traditional dishes on the menu that make it a nice visit.

They're apparently a chain now with a location in Beaverton and two in Salem. Possibly more locals that I do not know of.

[khyron]

The city of Portland, even right in the middle of downtown, is filled with pretty good Mexican food (and I mean small corn tortillas and tasty seasoned meats type stuff, not just Taco Bell or giant flour burritos for fat white people stuff). You would be well served by many of them. Since I'm sure other folks can rate all those for you (or Yelp) here's one you might not stumble across unless, like us, you frequently drive down to Tigard for cheap movie night at their Regal...

http://www.sancheztaqueriapdx.com/

...excellent food, cheap prices, no frills, and a bakery to boot! My wife has worked in the American southwest as well as central Mexico, and she loves this place.

On a tangent, just in case you ever feel like one of those giant American burrito places too, we have our own version here that's quite excellent (we go there and split stuff all the time). It's a small chain called Laughing Planet and they have great salads and other items too. They're sort of a fusion place, think of them compared to a Chipotle or Qdoba as you might compare Burgerville to McD or BK. Similar dishes, but prepared with far better ingredients and tons more flavor for comparable prices.

Oh and if anyone comes across this thread and wonders about that severely-ethnic thing it's not the OP being a jerk or anything, it's apt ridicule of a troll who posted some immigrant hate "humor" in another thread.

[Deezus]

There's a number of good(some great) taquerias and taco wagons or carts around Portland, especially over on the eastside of town. Some I like are La Sirenita on NE Alberta, Taqueria Lindo Michoacan on SE Division, or Tito's Burritos food cart downtown Portland. Catalina's on NE Killingsworth is a big family style Mexican joint, that has a takeout window for tacos and makes probably the best torta in all of Portland. King Burrito on N Lombard(I think they have some other locations now) is good for a very greasy, but very tasty and filling huge burrito--they have one stuffed with chile rellenos. For a little classier but still not too expensive Mexican experience, Cha Cha Cha locations are pretty good, and they have some specialties that vary by location like good ceviche. For expensive, but good regional Mexican food, Autentica off of NE Kilingsworth is the best in town for mole and Trebol on N Mississippi is good for a tequila bar and Oaxacan food although these are more hip Portland dining locations(although the food is pretty authentic).

However, if you're on the west side, and want to check out what I consider to be my favorite taco destination in all of Portland, go to Ochoas Lupitas on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway(sort of near Jesuit High School)

Ochoas Lupitas - Southwest Portland - Beaverton, OR

It's basically just a small taco stand, but it's my favorite for several reasons. One, they have a lot of meats for taco fillings--including the usuals like carnitas, asada, pastor, but also less common ones like barbacoa, chicharon, tripa, chivo(goat) and so on... And the way they cook the meat is how they'd cook it in Mexico--it's always small tender chunks of meat right off the grill and when you order the pastor or carnitas you can taste the marinade, never has that dried out pork taste like at some lesser spots. Secondly, the salsa bar is better than most sit down taquerias--there's always several fresh salsas(both red, green, pico de gallo, super spicy and so on) lots of pickled vegetables, limes, cilantro, onions, and more--which while standard for taco joints, is just exceptional at Ochoas. Thirdly, they have great horchata too. And lastly and most importantly, it's dirt cheap...You can get 10 tacos and 2 horchatas for $12. I usually just go in the summertime, but it's a great place to check out... I always leave feeling very satisfied.

[christiner81]

::drooling::